This is actually a suggestion for modders.
There is very little to no reason at all to be using RAR for packing stuff up these days. Not only WinRAR is payware, it loses to open source 7Zip in terms of packing effectiveness. But even if it didn't, is the size difference between a usual zip-packed archive and a rar-packed one warrant paying for WinRAR just for that?
Zip file format is understood by the majority of software. In fact, PKZ is basically a zip-file with its extension changed to .pkz.
So, here is my request: please, guys, pack your mods as zips instead and either leave them as .zip or better yet, change the extension to .pkz
And if you absolutely refuse to lose in the packing effectiveness department for whatever reason, how about switching to 7Zip and .7z instead?
+1
Will certainly try to
Pkz can also be read directly by GPB if I'm not mistaken, so for tracks at least there's not even a need to un-pack them
That's exactly why I'm asking the modders to pack stuff up into .pkz :)
It's much easier to just drop the .pkz into the appropriate folder and leave it there. GP Bikes sees them and unpacks them into memory when needed.
There is also an additional plus to this. Say, you have that WSBK 2017 set packed into separate .pkz files... And there is that patch that consists of the identically named folders containing changed files for each of the bikes. Just drop the folders into the same directory where the packed bikes are, and your bikes are patched without doing anything to the archives!
The only thing is that to add paints and files you MUST have a FOLDER to put them in so just a pkz wont work for that. You still have to have a folder. BUt pkz is fine just unpack it lol
DD
Ah, I forgot about the paints... But you can always have a folder named the same as the .pkz with the "paints" subfolder inside of it, right? GPB would pick the paints from there and the rest of the bike from the container. That might even have some benefits over having all the bike unpacked.
Anyhow, thanks for reminding about that, DD
Yeah just Make a folder the same name as the pkz file and put a paints folder in it. Both Bike folder and pkz directly in the bikes folder togeather. Can also have modded cfg and other files in the bike folder.
DD
Yes, that's how I "updated" the WSBK 2017 bikeset with the patch that is somewhere on this forum :)
Welcome to my world, Passerby
I tried to get modders to use the .plz file when making mods but nobody wants to use them.
Having a separate folder for paints is a bit of a faf but once made you it's done.
A brick wall springs to mind...
Ugh... I didn't know it was that bad... Thanks for the explanation, Matty.
If not .pkz, they could at least use just the regular .zip or .7z, but of all things, why .rar? I guess I'll never understand the logic behind that...
Then again, tracks do not need paints, yet they are still packed with RAR most of the time. So, not only I unpack the stuff after downloading it, I also have to repack it into a .pkz Zip. Because otherwise it takes up much more space.
It is stupid that stuff is packed into anything but .pkz files
Really if .pkz if just a renamed .zip file then we should just be able to use the .zip format. That is somthing for Piboso.
Well, maybe it's just laziness, but then again, at least packing into a .zip rather than into a .rar should be equally as easy (if not easier). I'd just rename it to a .pkz after downloading :)
As for why Piboso insists on using that extension over just plain .zip, who knows. Other devs do it too. Richard Burns Rally is one of the examples with its .rbz
I know .pkz files can be encrypted. That was the original reason for using them but we haven't been given access to the encryption tools.
I hope that's not the regular Zip-encryption, because that would just be a waste of time. If you are not given the tools, then that doesn't really matter, I guess. It's kind of weird though... If Piboso doesn't encrypt his own stuff, doesn't share the tools to the modders, what gives? Maybe that's something planned for the future.
The stock bikes and track used to be encrypted Nd Piboso said if modders wanted to protect their mods (to stop unofficial updated etc) then he can release the encryption tool
At one time I was constantly asking Piboso to give us the file encryption tool to stop others messing with mods, but I think the backlash from those that don't want it ruled the day..... I will never understand some peoples thinking because if modders are to put in the hours required to produce very good scratch work then they want to know that it's protected.... There's always someone who will come along and think they have a right to alter someones mod work without asking permissions first. :P :)
Quote from: matty0l215 on April 17, 2019, 02:57:42 PMThe stock bikes and track used to be encrypted Nd Piboso said if modders wanted to protect their mods (to stop unofficial updated etc) then he can release the encryption tool
Really? I guess it was a while ago. Good thing they aren't anymore, that let me bring the old stock content back to life.
Quote from: Hawk on April 18, 2019, 08:00:57 PMAt one time I was constantly asking Piboso to give us the file encryption tool to stop others messing with mods, but I think the backlash from those that don't want it ruled the day..... I will never understand some peoples thinking because if modders are to put in the hours required to produce very good scratch work then they want to know that it's protected.... There's always someone who will come along and think they have a right to alter someones mod work without asking permissions first. :P :)
I have to admit I'm guilty of altering something :) The Twin Ring Motegi track has that unnecessarily annoying background sound of high-rev motors constantly played on track... I'm happy I could get in and "switch off" the sound (love Motegi otherwise).
Still, encryption should be essential for making sure everybody is using identical content in online sessions.